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5.01.2014

as i have emerged from the first trimester tummy-death-funk, i am peeking cautiously around the corner and looking forward to my full return to the kitchen. one of my least favorite parts about early pregnancy is how much it turns me off to cooking (smell/see/touch my food before it's time to eat it?!? NEVER!) and just all things kitchen in general. opening the refrigerator can be a game of russian roulette. loading the dishwasher? a minefield! there's no telling what unexpected sights/smells i might encounter that will explode me.

but like i said, that's over now. i recently i cooked a real meal for the first time in about 10 weeks.

i was surprised by how much i had missed it! the kids had gone to bed (because when you're pregnant and want poppy seed chicken as your second dinner at 9 pm, you just go for it!), but jesse was up and sat at the bar as i made the magic.

and it really was magic. my hands and eyes were mixing and measuring, but all my attention was still somehow on my conversation and catching up with jesse. it sounds hokey, but it really felt like a homecoming (and i am not a lady who typically says "the kitchen is my home") to be spending time making something fresh and delicious while having an uninterrupted impromptu little reconnect-date with my husband.

it made me realize that, as domesticated as i pretend not to be, our kitchen really is the heart of our home. sure we have wrestlemania in our bed, and insane "Frozen" scream-a-longs in the living room, but the touchstone that our crazy busy family always returns to is the kitchen. it's where we steal an hour after naps and before soccer or small group to scarf a quick meal, and more importantly to catch up with each other. the kids get to update us on their soap opera preschool friendships, at least one item of food or drink is spilled, jesse and i try to tell each other about our grown up days while fielding insane questions from the children--and without even realizing it, we're in the middle of the best part of our day.

GE Appliances knows it's all about the kitchen as has designed their line to help make the kitchen a relaxed and inviting space. every step of their design is driven by what the consumer (that's me!) needs. their dishwasher philosophy is “We know the only thing worse than prewashing is rewashing.” YES! GE Appliances calculated that if i spend just 20 minutes a day pre-washing dishes before putting them into the dishwasher, that is 5 full days every year spent on pre-washing, and they decided to design a dishwasher that would return those 5 days to me. hence 102 jets that do their job: washing dishes FOR me!

another way GE Appliances wants to give you more time with your family: their hands-free auto-fill refrigerator which will fill your glass with water and knows just when to stop. because moms know how valuable one hand can be when it's not tied up in a task that her fridge could be doing for her.

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I own weeknights by realizing that not everything is going to get done, and that's ok! Food, baths, and clean clothes are the name of the game. If I can't get to that DIY or sewing project until the weekend, that's ok :)

I own weeknight meals by spending all day here and there getting them ready. First thing I marinate. After lunch I chop. I try to leave only the cooking left for supper time. It takes all day to make a meal here! And omg I hate my dishwasher. I prewash and good flies around for weeks and the tray sticks and doesn't sit right on the ledges. GE help me!

I own the weeknights by having 4 or 5 projects that can be worked on so even if I'm not in the mood for one there are several more for me to choose from. Bought my first house in December so there are lots of projects to choose from right now.

I was drooling a little at your description and photo of the Dishwasher. The one that was in the house when I moved in may be older than me and desperately needs to be replaced. This visa gift card would go directly towards making that happen.

i make sure the whole family gets involved in preparing the dinner. we make homemade pizza every wednesday and each person gets to pick which healthy toppings they want to put on their portion of the pizza. I try to prepare as much ingredients as possible on the weekends when I have more time.

On most nights, our both kids are in bed by 8 (we learned to put them to bed early after kiddo #2). :)

My husband and I spend time in the kitchen/family room catching up on the day. We then end up together on the coach, watching inane tv and eating ice cream. It's a little treat for both of us every night. :)

I own my weeknights by scheduling certain nights where I do n.o.t.h.i.n.g! I get food out or I eat something with no prep at home. And I catch up on my DVR. I get things done on the other nights. It totally saves my sanity. (Please note: I am single and do not have kids, which probably allows this to happen.)

I own my weeknights by being prepared. I usually plan out dinner at least a day in advance and have everything I need that day. It makes the transition into dinner time smooth and easy.Samantha (samdaleo)jamesmadison197$2gmail.com

i try to make weeknights special by having the kids help cook (when they're not busy), making something a little different for dinner (when it's in the budget) and by just having dinner together as a family (when we can! ) :)

My special weeknights are those when i can actually get home in time to have dinner with my family. I cook up a storm on weekends, so we compile some leftovers and chat about our day.aleksnearing gmail com

I have a set schedule to help me get everything I want done every weeknight after coming home from work. However, I get a little cranky if my schedule gets disrupted (for other than important issues or an emergency).

I own my weeknights by declaring the after everyone has gone to bed "Laurie's time". I make some popcorn, sweet tea and put on my favorite romantic movies which nobody else likes to watch. I then lay on the couch and enjoy the few hours I have to just sit and relax.Laurie Emersonlauraemerson17 at yahoo dot com